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Let’s think about ways to use the word think. In a classroom, regardless of the activity,
the primary goal is to encourage students to think. Think is most often used as a verb
meaning to focus one’s mind on something, to use one’s mind to connect ideas. It can also
mean to hold certain beliefs or opinions. Teachers may ask their students to think about
the solution to a math problem. Teachers may also use techniques to help show students
thinking processes. Thinking can be as simple as deciding what to wear for the day, or it
can be as complex as pondering the meaning of life. Thinking may take only a split second
of inspiration, or it may require an extended process of reviewing and revising over many
years, as with a scientific breakthrough.
Although most common as a verb, think also appears on occasion as a noun and even an
adjective. Informally, one might say, “This situation has really confused me. I need to take
a walk and give it a good think.” As an adjective, think is used in combinations such as
think tank, think piece, and think session. These expressions all convey the idea that an
expert, or a group of experts, is focusing deeply and analytically on an issue.
Follow-Ups
• When choosing a present for someone special, do you want to think you have a good
gift, or know you have a good gift?
• When thinking of a solution on a math test, do you want to perseverate on a single
problem?
• What is the difference between brainstorming and researching a problem?
The Spanish Connection
Think comes from the Middle English thenken or thinken, and it is related to the Dutch
and German denken. The Spanish word for to think is pensar. Think and pensar are not
cognates. But some of the synonyms for think do have Spanish cognates.
Word Changes
• The past tense and past participle of think take an unusual form: thought. The word
thought can be used as a noun and as a verb.
• Think can be used as a term to direct people’s acts and thoughts. For example, the
phrase “Think green” is a suggestion for people to consider changing their behaviors to
help the environment. Using refillable water bottles and cloth grocery bags are ways for
people to “Think green.”
• A think tank refers to an organization or institution where a group of knowledgeable
or experienced people study and write about specific problems, often political or economic
issues.
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Think
S4-15
Think as in
to develop or
consider ideas
• conceive
• consider
• ponder
• imagine
• brainstorm
• reason
IDIOMS
• Think big
• Think little of
• Think up
• Think it over
• Think it through
• Think tank
• Think better of
• Think fit
• Think again
• Think clearly
• Think nothing of it
• Hear myself think
• Don’t think much of it
• Put your thinking cap on
• Think before you act
• Weigh up the odds/the
pros and cons
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Think as in
to be unsure of
• believe
• guess
• think
• reckon
• suspects
• feel
• suppose
• sense
Think
Think as in
to think deeply
• perseverate
• contemplate
• analyze
• evaluate
• ruminate
• deliberate
• study
• reflect
• meditate
• cogitate
THE SPANISH CONNECTION
• to imagine / imaginar
• to meditate / meditar
• to consider / considerer
• to conceive / concebir
• to analyze / analizar
• to evaluate / evaluar
• to deliberate / deliberar
• to meditate / meditar
COMMON PHRASES
• Think fast
• Chew over
• Brood over
• Wonder about
• Mull over
• Think back
• Think twice
• Wishful thinking
• Come to think of it
• Think aloud/out loud
• Think green
v.1.0 © 2015 TextProject, Inc. Some rights reserved (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/).
Think
S4-15
Think as in
to be unsure of
Think as in
to think deeply
Think as in
to develop or
consider ideas
IDIOMS
Think
THE SPANISH CONNECTION
COMMON PHRASES
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v.1.0 © 2015 TextProject, Inc. Some rights reserved (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/).
Think
S4-15
Derivational Prefixes
& Suffixes
• rethink
• unthinkable
• unthinking
• thinker
• thoughless
• thoughtful
• unthoughtful
Inflected Endings
• thinks
• thinking
Irregular Spelling
• thought
Compound Words
• think tank
• freethinker
• freethinkiing
Morphological
Family for
Think
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www.textproject.org/s4
v.1.0 © 2015 TextProject, Inc. Some rights reserved (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/).
Think
S4-15
Derivational Prefixes
& Suffixes
Inflected Endings
Compound Words
Irregular Spelling
Morphological
Family for
Think
™
www.textproject.org/s4
v.1.0 © 2015 TextProject, Inc. Some rights reserved (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/).